Rebecca leaned in and ordered the engineer to brake hard as the stolen steamer lifted off the tracks and ran up and over the massive hulk of the Dreadnaught pod. Hydraulics whined in protest as turrets tried to come to bare upon the steamer.
"James! Across the border!" Maureen shouted as she pointed. Britannia pods had appeared out of a grove and were rapidly advancing towards the stone bridge that marked the border.
"Blast!" James leaped from the steamer as it slowed to a crawl his tweed kilt flapping as he landed and was off in a sprint, legs and arms pumping.
Master M limped from the carriage and leaned against the side. He glanced at his stop watch and snapped the case shut. Ten minutes. Time enough for a Britannia pod to cross, clear the steamer and Alban pod from the tracks and tow the carriage with fissionables onto Britannia soil before they learned about his little surprise.
Ahead of the Britannia pods a company of strikers raced across the stone bridge thick cables coming along behind them. The men drew tossed smoke bombs into the Alban pods turrets while others connected the cables to the pods main carriage.
The rack of rifle fire met a striker as he clambered to the top of the Alban pod. His chest blossomed red as he toppled back. More shots came hitting two more strikers before the remaining team scrambled for cover.
Maureen slid her rifles magazine free and slapped a fresh one in, as she slowly scanned for more targets through the rifles scope. Stefania stood nearby watching as Rebecca and James neared the wreck.
Master M had scrambled under the carriages at the first sound of rifle fire and was slowly making his way forward. He could see the river bank twenty feet away, a steep incline to the waters edge and freedom. His breath was loud and harsh in his ears, his heart thumping hard in his chest.
A minion jumped from a carriage towards James pistol drawn. James put on a burst of speed as the pistol began to track him. A loud crack behind him and the minion crumpled. Rebecca had her pistol drawn as she caught up to James. Behind them Maureen kept the strikers heads down with a steady and effective covering fire.
James reached the crumpled steamers boilers and slid his pistol from his hidden holster. "Where is he?" he growled as he scanned the wreckage for signs of Master M. Rebecca pressed close as a striker tried to snipe at them.
"Check the carriages," James said. "I'll take the other side."
"Hurry, I see a Britannia pod hooking up a cable, they're going to try and pull the wreckage clear" Rebecca noted.
James nodded and slid between two carriages.
To Be Continued......
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